Indeed, a quick glance at the schedule paints the full picture. Everyone in Houston can now watch, for the most part. Rejoice. Of course, not so coincidentally, that also means that the team is in for some pretty brutal upcoming matchups as they square off against Portland, Golden State, Indiana, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio, all during this stretch. Thursday’s game at Portland is intriguing primarily because it represents a rematch of a win which–at the time–I thought nothing of, ready to throw my remote at the screen had they lost; wasn’t quite expecting the Blazers to run away with the West’s best record.

Given the schizophrenic nature of this team, they could just as easily go 6-6 during this stretch as 10-2, though I do expect that number to be closer to the latter if health stays on our side and Jeremy Lin comes back as expected. On the 15th, the Rockets will get a look at Rudy Gay as fate and destiny collided yesterday. Against Chicago, Memphis, and New Orleans, the Rockets will have the benefit–to the detriment of fans everywhere–of taking on teams playing without their best players. And on the 29th, they’ll return to Oklahoma City where they’ll get a chance to see if the addition of Dwight Howard helped close the gap between themselves and a team that was on its way to pummeling them before an unfortunate injury. And lastly, the December 15th, 18th, and 20th trio of games each could represent the team’s first playing without center Omer Asik, we are told via the trade winds….except that the team has been without him both physically and mentally for pretty much the entire year. Hmm.